Wednesday 06 November 2019
Two expert panels of judges have been announced for the highly sought-after Orwell Prizes for Journalism and Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils, which open for entry today, Wednesday 6th November 2019.
Broadcaster Iain Dale will Chair the Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils 2020, alongside previous-winner Max Daly, Rosie Campbell, Abigail Scott Paul, and Farrah Storr while Ben Fenton chairs the Orwell Prize for Journalism 2020, alongside award-winning author and journalist Mihir Bose and previous-winner Vanora Bennet.
• Free to enter and independent of editorial agenda, the Prizes are now open until midnight 13th January for journalism published in the calendar year 2019
• The Social Evils Prize, sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, is for reporting which has enhanced the public understanding of social issues and/or public policy
• Journalism Prize rewards the sustained commentary and/or reportage which strives to meet George Orwell’s ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’
The Orwell Prize for Exposing for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils, now in its sixth year, is awarded to reporting which has enhanced the public understanding of social issues and/or public policy. In 2019 the winner was Max Daly (Global Drugs Editor, VICE) for his reporting on the ‘County Lines’ phenomenon, described as ‘a street-level investigation into the causes and nature of rising youth drug selling and violence.
Sponsored and supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Prize is named in recognition of the task Joseph Rowntree gave his organisation to ‘search out the underlying causes of weakness or evil’ that lay behind Britain’s social problems. The Prize encourages entries which report across a variety of media, including online, broadcast and print media.
This year’s judges are:
- Iain Dale, Broadcaster and Political Commentator (Chair)
- Professor Rosie Campbell, Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, King’s College London
- Max Daly, Global Drugs Editor, VICE and winner of the Prize in 2019
- Abigail Scott Paul, Deputy Director of Advocacy and Public Engagement, JRF
- Farrah Storr, Editor-in-Chief, ELLE
Chair of judges Iain Dale commented:
George Orwell was a fearless and stubborn exposer of social evils – always independent, he knew how to tell a story which changed minds. My fellow judges and I are looking forward to uncovering the investigative reporting that continues in his vein, we are seeking the best of social reporting in any media from across the UK.
Previous winners of the Prize include Sarah O’Connor and a team from the Financial Times for an expose of the state of Britain’s coastal towns, and the author and journalist Nicci Gerrard.
The Orwell Prize for Journalism is one of the UK’s most sought-after journalism awards. The winning entry should be a collection of commentary and/or reportage which strives to meet George Orwell’s ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. Last year’s Prize was won by the Guardian columnist Suzanne Moore and Steve Bloomfield, Deputy Editor at Prospect magazine. This year’s judges are:
- Ben Fenton, Head of Creative Industries at Edelman UK (Chair)
- Mihir Bose, award-winning journalist and author
- Vanora Bennet, author and former Orwell Journalism Prize winner
Chair of judges Ben Fenton said:
We are looking for journalism which is independent of agenda, that serves the public rather than private interest, from journalists writing against the grain rather than with it. It must also be writing which demands the care and attention of readers at a time when they have so little to spare. We hope to find writing that combines accuracy, brevity and, above all – in our murky times – clarity.
Previous winners include Suzanne Moore, Steve Bloomfield, Carole Cadwalladr, Fintan O’Toole, Gideon Rachman and Iona Craig.
In both Prizes, entries must have been first published between 1st January and 31st December 2019. Entry is made online. Prize rules, including full eligibility criteria, can be found here.
Longlists (12 nominees) will be announced in March 2020, followed by shortlists (6 nominees) in May 2020. The winners of both prizes will be announced at the end of June 2020, alongside the winners of The Orwell Prize for Political Writing and The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
